The zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model divisions will shake off the weather blues from the rainout last week at North Wilkesboro Speedway with a trip to Tri-County Speedway on Saturday, May 25. The combined Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model fields will be chasing expanded winner’s purses in the first of the five enhanced-payout races this season. The second Tri-County race on Oct. 12 will also have the expanded purse, as will the to-be-rescheduled LMSC and Pro Late Model events at North Wilkesboro later this season and the Throwback 225 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Four former LMSC winners at Tri-County—Bobby McCarty, Mini Tyrell, Conner Jones and Landon Huffman–will be looking for another Tri-County triumph, while Caden Kvapil seeks to add a fourth win to his total in the Pro LM division. Current LMSC points leader Connor Hall will attempt to add to his margin, while co-Pro Late Model leaders Kaden Honeycutt and Spencer Davis will renew their battle for the top spot.
Event Notes:
Track: Tri-County Speedway
Location: Hudson, North Carolina
Length: .400 miles
Laps: 125 LMSC, 100 Pro LM
CARS LMSC Tour races: 8
CARS Pro LM races: 5
LMSC Tri-County Speedway winners: Josh Berry (2), Brenden Queen, Bobby McCarty, Mini Tyrrell, Conner Jones, Landon Huffman, Brayton Haws.
Pro LM Tri-County Speedway winners: Caden Kvapil (3), Jake Garcia, William Sawalich.
LMSC Entry List: #00 Chase Burrow, #03 Brenden Queen, #04 Ronnie Bassett Jr., #08 Deac McCaskill, #1 Andrew Grady, #2 Brandon Pierce, #5 Dexter Canipe Jr., #6 Bobby McCarty, #8 Carson Kvapil, #11 Buddy Isles Jr., #15 Ryan Millington, #15W Mitch Walker, #16 Chad McCumbee, #17 Kaden Honeycutt, #22 Connor Hall, #23 Kade Brown, #28 Connor Zilisch, #29 Brent Crews, #37 Landon Huffman, #44 Conner Jones, #44M Tommy Joe Martins, #45 Bryce Applegate, #51 Steven Nasse, #55 Isabella Robusto, #62 Landen Lewis, #67 Cameron Bolin, #71 Katie Hettinger, #77 Treyten Lapcevich, #81 Mini Tyrrell, #95 Jacob Heafner
PRO Late Model Entry List: #03 Kyle Campbell, #00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr., #6 Tristan McKee, #6B Brandon Lopez, #7T Tyler Church, #9 Ashton Higgins, #15 Jonathan Shafer, #24 Jake Bollman, #29 Spencer Davis, #35 Caden Kvapil, #43 Nick Loden, #43H Joshua Horniman, #44 Connor Jones, #51 Kaden Honeycutt, #65 Tyler Tanner, #71 Katie Hettinger, #77 Logan Jones, #96 TJ DeCaire, #97 Dylan Garner
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Queen Makes NCTS Debut with Fourth-Place Finish at North Wilkesboro
Perennial zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car championship contender Brenden Queen made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut last Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway during NASCAR All-Star Race weekend, and wound up finishing a solid fourth. He wasn’t the only CARS Tour representative at the top of the standings. Driving for Tricon Garage, Queen qualified 26th and finished fourth in a race won by his teammate, Corey Heim, who owns a CARS Tour victory, while third-place finisher Layne Riggs has six CARS Tour wins and Queen has five. “This was really special,” Queen said after making his first NCTWS start at a track he knows well. “I’ve got a lot of work to do battling for the CARS Tour championship and hopefully this weekend we can get some points and get back in the race for the championship.”
Higgins Sees Potential with New Team
Last month, Ashton Higgins joined forces with Highlands Motorsports and owner Josh Reeves to run the CARS Pro Late Model series. This week’s race at Tri-County returns Higgins to his home track with hopes of kick-starting his chase for the championship in the division. Higgins still drives his familiar No. 9 Alliance Driveway Solutions/Leapfrog Landscaping machine, now maintained and set up at the Highlands Motorsports shops in Abingdon, Va. The pairing began in 2023, when Higgins was without a car for the season finale and Reeves offered up his team’s backup for Higgins to drive. “Josh has always been really, really good to me and has always gone out of his way to help me,” said the 21-year-old Higgins. “I just think it’s a winning combination altogether.”
Huffman Chases More Big Money at Tri-County
Landon Huffman’s last trip to Tri-County Speedway for a big-money race was golden…literally. Huffman, driving for Nelson Motorsports, captured the annual Old North State Nationals and its $30,000 payout last year, leading the last nine laps to earn the Late Model Stock Car victory in a wild finish. Huffman snatched the lead from Kaden Honeycutt to secure the victory and the cash. Huffman, who now campaigns the High Rock Vodka Toyota for JM Racing and also occasionally competes in the track’s weekly series, certainly knows the way to Victory Lane. This weekend’s $10,000-to-win event would be a good time for a return trip, as Huffman has struggled in the opening five races so far this season.
Garner Seeks Pro LM Win for Family Team
Dylan Garner’s Pro Late Model team is a family affair, including his parents. Both his father and mother work on the car, in the true spirit of family teams, and winning the $5,000 winner’s check this weekend would go a long way toward making a big step up the ladder. Garner is a rookie in the Pro LM division and running for Rookie Of The Year honors in the division. In four races so far this season, Garner is coming off his best result, 12th, in the most recent race at Ace Speedway on May 3. He currently sits 12th in Pro LM points.
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The green flag for the SoundGear 225 is set to wave at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 25, with the 100-lap Pro Late Model feature kicking off the action. FloRacing will broadcast the event beginning at 4:45 p.m. with coverage of qualifying and will continue through the Pro Late Model and Late Model Stock Car events.
For more information on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on X (formerly known as Twitter) and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.
Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office at (704) 696-3570.
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